What If: A Different Future
by The youngest Grimm
Summary: Based on the History of Trunks TV Special. This story expresses a different outcome than the TV Special. A separate timeline, a 'what if' like in the video games. A world where Gohan doesn't die but, instead, rises to the challenge of the Android menace. Facing foes both familiar and unknown. -This story is rated M for profanity and graphic violence-


**Chapter One - The Androids Defeated! Enter: Son Gohan!**

 _After the untimely death of the legendary Saiyan warrior, Son Goku, the earth is left without a protector. Defenseless and with no hope in sight, the Androids run amok throughout the entire world, destroying every city in sight. The days are dark, and the people fear that this will be humanity's end. With no other options, the people make underground shelters, hiding as well as they can to no avail. The death toll rises by the millions each passing day. All is lost...or so it seems._

The night sky blankets the scene of a demolished city. The corpses of millions lay scattered on the city streets. Blood and water paint the shattered ruins that were once a bustling cityscape. And in the distance, all that is heard is the laughter of two people. One young man, and another young woman.

"That's what I'm saying 18. Why settle for small city after small city when we can blow up the whole world? I mean, come on, what's stopping us? I say that if we have to lay waste to this dirtball then why not do it with a bang? In fact, I believe we owe it to the people of earth to end their history in a gorgeous display of fireworks,"

A young man stands atop a ruined car, admiring his work. His eyes travel across the sight in front of him while wearing a smirk on his face.

"But where are we going to live? Not to mention I'll probably ruin my clothes in the blast of such an explosion. We can't be too hasty, we have to think about the long run of things. Besides, if I had to choose between earth and space I'd most likely choose earth. In fact, I'm certain you would, too,"

A young lady sits upon the seat of a bike, her head resting in the palm of her hands, looking onward with a bored look plastered on her face.

"You're right, I probably would. If it weren't for the fact that I know of another planet that's a lot like this one,"

The young lady raises her eyebrow in curiosity, "Go on."

"Check it out, you know how they say that before we came along Goku and his friends had traveled to another planet?"

18 answers, "Yeah, Planet Namek, but wasn't that planet destroyed by some guy named Freezer?"

He stops admiring his work and turns to look 18 in the face, "Yeah, _**IT**_ was destroyed. Not the Namekians, nor their Dragon Balls. They say that before the planet was destroyed, the Namekians made a wish which would teleport everyone off the planet except for Goku and Freezer, and bring them all to earth. After which, they wished for a new Planet Namek, and teleported there,"

18 begins to nod her head in agreement, "True, true. But how do you suppose we'll get there once the earth is destroyed? Wouldn't the new Planet Namek be light-years away?"

"Thought about that, too. We'll just get one of those Capsule Corp. scientists to build us some space pods. That's how Goku got to Namek. So here's what I'm thinking: We have them build the pods ahead of time, set the planet to blow sky high, and then escape in our pods without a word. After the earth blows to kingdom come, it'll be all to infinity and beyond after that?"

18 begins to nod her head some more, this time with a smile, "You know something, 17? That might have actually been your first good, well thought-out idea, ever,"

17 takes a bow, "Why, thank you, sister, you're too kind."

17 jumps off of the car and begins walking in 18's direction, "Now let's blow this planet to hell!"

18 gets up and starts walking in the same direction as 17, "Seriously, though. What is it with you and making things explode? Is that like, some sort of childhood trauma thing? Because you really need to stop, or at least get help,"

"You can help me now, go find one of those Capsule Corp. punks and while you do that, I'll set this planet to blow,"

18 shakes her head in disappointment, "You really need to stop,"

"Ehh, I'm sure I will eventually."

A rugged voice comes from behind, cutting the Androids' conversation short, "Would you consider stopping now?"

Both and 17 and 18 look at each other. Caught off guard by the hoarse reply. 17 stares at 18, "Was that you?"

18 raises her eyebrow, "Did that sound like me?"

"Behind you."

17 and 18 look behind them to find a man sporting a very familiar piece of clothing.

17 stares at the man, annoyed by his impromptu appearance, "And just who do you think you are? I could've sworn we killed everybody,"

The man looks at 17 with a serious face, "You did. Everybody except me, that is. Now, as I was saying, would you consider stopping your reign of destruction now? "

17 and 18 look at each other, then back at the man, then back at each other, and proceed to laugh so hard that their eyes water.

17 responds, "You know, I usually don't like humans; but you, sir, have just put me in a very good mood. What's your name, son?"

The man chuckles, "Son,"

"Yeah. I know. Son. What's your name?"

"Son,"

17 raises an eyebrow, "...your name is Son?"

"...yes,"

"Now, normally, I would make a smart comment on that; but, unfortunately, I'm reminded that I myself am named after a number. So, Son, what was that you were saying earlier?"

"I want you to stop destroying cities and I want you to forget about your plans on destroying the earth. I'd be very grateful if you would do so,"

17 puts his hands to his side and lets out a hearty laugh, "Are you kidding? Look man, We didn't even take orders from Gero. What makes you think we'll take orders from you?"

Son sighs, "I was hoping you would take it into consideration since I asked nicely; but now I see that I was wrong,"

17 smirks and looks up, "Very wrong, my friend, very wrong. Now…"

17 looks at Son, his eyebrows inclined downwards and frowning. He raises his arm and proceeds to point at Son, "...leave. In case you haven't noticed, we're well known for our abilities,"

"But obviously not your intelligence," 18 laughs at Son's witty remark.

17 clenches his fist, "Listen, you rotten bastard! I will kill you. Is that what you want?"

Son crosses his arms and closes his eyes in disappointment, "You also said you'd blow up the earth. But I don't see that happening either."

17 puts down his fists. His breathing becoming heavier, "You know what? Burn in hell."

17 flies into the air and conjures up an enormous sphere of energy above him. He stares straight at Son, an animalistic look of rage decorating his visage, "AND I REPEAT! BURN! IN! HELL!"

17 launches the sphere straight at Son; but no sooner does he launch the sphere when he realizes the grave error he just made. With his widened eyes and fearful gaze he shouts, "WAIT! NO!"

18 is paralyzed by 17's act. With her eyes widened as well, she puts her arms in front of her to protect her from the blast, "YOU IDIOT!"

...but nothing. 17 and 18 look out from behind their arms to find Son holding the enormous sphere of energy in the palm of his hand.

18 widens her gaze, "Wait...what?"

Son smirks at 18 and proceeds to look at 17, angrily, "Hey, 17! Catch!"

Son throws the sphere of energy back at 17. 17 is caught by such surprise that by the time he realizes the situation, it's much too late. 17 stretches his arms in front of him; but his timing is off. Before he can say a word, 17 is blasted upwards to the far reaches of space. He is launched with such speed that the clouds spread out, and once he leaves, all that is left is a shrinking tower of light and a small twinkle in the sky, showing where he left.

18 looks upward in shock and awe. She is unable to fathom what she had just witnessed only moments ago. She looks back at Son and notices something that she hadn't before. There, right on Son's left pec, is the kanji for turtle. Her mind floods with memories from the past, images begin to flutter around her eyes, "What did you say your name was again?"

Son had been looking upwards; but as soon as 18 poses the question, he looks back at her, "Son. My name is Son."

The name begins to ring in her ears. _Son. Son...Goku…_

18 clenches her fists and shouts, "Son what!? What's your first name?"

He chuckles at her, "Gohan. I am Son...Gohan."

18 clenches her teeth in anger. _Him!? That little brat!? No way! It's just not possible!_

Gohan laughs, "I know, shocking isn't it? That aside, I wouldn't worry about your brother. He's fine. In fact, here he comes right now."

A huge 'boom' is heard from the sky. The clouds part and a lone, speeding figure, comes crashing down onto the earth. Before he can touch the ground, however, he changes direction and speeds towards Gohan, "NOW YOU'RE GOING TO GET IT YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

18 shakes her head and screams, "17! No! He's too strong for you!"

But 17 is in a state of rage he has never known before. The humiliation he has just suffered has pushed him past the breaking point. He is deaf to reason. All he knows is kill.

17 jets past 18 and launches his fist forward. Gohan immediately grabs it, stopping 17 dead in his tracks. A shock wave is sent throughout the circumference of the whole city. As soon as it stops, the already broken buildings begin to shatter into even smaller pieces. Glass that wasn't already broken shatters, the noise ringing throughout the whole city. 17 begins screaming like a wild animal, he throws blow after useless blow, Gohan dodging them all while still holding 17 in place. 17 tries chopping Gohan's arm, Gohan moving his arm out of the way and letting go of 17 in the process. 17 takes the chance and flies backwards to gain some distance.

 _Now's my chance_ , thinks 17. 17 stretches his arms and creates two giant spheres of energy at his sides, launching them quickly. Gohan knocks them both upwards.

"Damn it!" shouts 17, "Hey, sis! You know how you were saying I needed help? Now would be a great time."

And although 18 was still somewhat scared, she jumps in to help her brother. The two androids look at each other, "Alright, sis. It's time for our finishing move, the one that's never failed us.

18 nods in agreement, "Right!"

18 hides behind 17 and the two charge towards Gohan. Once close enough, the two jump and split into different directions. They launch their fists at Gohan to no avail, he disappears. The Androids are left dumbfounded,

"Where the hell did he go!?" shouts an angry, confused 17,

"I never left."

Gohan appears once again. Jumping and kicking the Androids away from each other. 17 goes flying to the left, 18 to the right, crashing into debris. Both 17 and 18 are scared and confused. Their technique becoming sloppy.

17 gets up and creates two energy spheres, 18 charges at Gohan, 17 launches them, Gohan dodges, and 18 receives the blast.

18 shouts to 17, "17, you son of a bitch!"

17 shouts back, "Then don't get in the way of my atta-" but the Android is cut short. Gohan appears and immediately punches 17 in the stomach; but all 18 notices is Gohan. Immediately she fires her own blast of energy, Gohan dodging, and 17 receiving the blast.

17 now lies on the floor. Breathing heavily, and in excruciating pain. 18 stands not too far from him, knees buckled, and breathing heavily herself. And Gohan, Gohan stands in the middle of them, watching them slowly suffer.

Gohan crosses his arms,"I think you've figured it out by now, you two can't win. So I'll ask again, Will you please cease this needless destruction? It's unnecessary. I know you two were created for the sole purpose of destruction; but believe me, it doesn't have to be that way."

Gohan waits for a reply, soon enough, he hears 17 laughing at him, "You really are an idiot, aren't you? You think we do this simply because we were made to? No, we choose to. That's why you should just kill us now. Because if you don't, we will get stronger, we will find you, and we _**will**_ kill you."

Gohan chuckles, "I should've known you'd be stubborn. Oh well, that's why one should always have a backup plan."

Gohan immediately takes out a small remote. 18's gaze becoming wide, she recognizes that device, "17! He's got Dr. Gero's shutdown device!"

17 immediately gets back up on his feet. He sees the remote, "Where did you get that!?"

"You two destroyed Gero's lab. Notwithstanding, you neglected to destroy his basement lab. Before coming here, I payed that same lab a visit to see if you two had any weaknesses. And instead, what do I find? The blueprints for an emergency shutdown device. With this, I'll put the world's troubles to an end."

17 and 18 immediately charge at Gohan, "No you won't you slimy bastard!"

But before the two can even lay a finger, Gohan activates the device.

17 and 18 immediately stop. But...something is wrong. Why don't they turn off?

17 begins laughing, "Ha! Looks like you should've read the instructions more carefully! Now die!"

17 stretches forth his hand and launches an energy sphere...or so he thinks. He tries again...but nothing. 18 tries as well, but she too is powerless.

17 begins to tremble, 18 as well, "What have you done to us!?"

Gohan responds, "Dr. Gero made you with an infinite power supply and self-destruct devices. All I did was turn them both off. And now, the two of you are no more different than any regular human."

17 begins to tear up. He runs towards Gohan and begins punching him to no avail. It is as Gohan says, no different than any other human. Gohan proceeds to break the remote. 17 and 18's hearts skipping a beat.

"With that, they'll stay off. And with this…" Gohan takes out the blueprints for the shutdown device. He had had it on him the entire time, the Androids becoming wide-eyed. Gohan stretches his palm open and sets fire to the blueprints, "...no one will ever make a new remote."

Gohan flies into the air and shouts, "You can come out now!"

Soon enough, helicopters and news crews begin to appear from behind the wreckage of the city.

Gohan looks at Androids 17 and 18, "And now the whole world knows, as well. I know you must really hate me for this; but trust me, I've done you two a greater favor then you can ever imagine. In time, I hope we can become friends. until then, sayonara."

Gohan flies away. 17 falling to his knees and punching the ground in anger. His eyes are flooded with tears, "This is the end for us!"

But 18 puts her hand on her brother's head, "I don't think so. Maybe it's not the end, maybe it's just...a new beginning."

 _But unbeknownst to our hero Gohan. There was something very important in Gero's basement lab that he missed. Something that would prove greater than the Androids. For from deep within Gero's basement lab, a monster was forming. A monster whose sole existence would take its toll on the whole world._


End file.
